


Caught Up In The Grey

by SemblanceOfInvisibility



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, F/M, Ironwitch, Qrowin - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-15
Updated: 2018-03-28
Packaged: 2019-03-18 17:23:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13686303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SemblanceOfInvisibility/pseuds/SemblanceOfInvisibility
Summary: Every time he looked at her, he was reminded that he had bordering love for her. Every time she looked at him, she couldn't help but suppress her feelings. But times change and, if you really love someone, shouldn't you tell them? Shouldn't you do something? (Qrowin and Ironwitch) (Cross-Posted On Fanfiction.net)





	1. Chapter 1

__**December 30th**  
City Of Atlas; Atlas  
Downtown 

Cold. The wind bites her ears and every other part of her not covered by her uniform and coat. Though some would be bothered by this, she is not one of them. As she walks, the freshly laid snow crunches some beneath her boots. Her report had gone well; There were only minor surprises in what she found to be causes leading up to the fall of Beacon Academy. She was aware that General Ironwood was now concerned about the threat of war and, in all honesty, she could hardly blame him. Many people blamed the kingdom of Atlas directly for what happened to Vale, never mind all the evidence to suggest otherwise. Of course, that didn't mean some members of the council weren't grasping at straws for a fight. Regardless, as Glynda had reminded the council earlier, the woman behind all of it, or at least the woman who had been pulling the strings, was now vanished but the scars she had left were there to haunt. Looking at her familiar surroundings with a sigh, another car began to pass by but then it stopped unexpectedly on the curb next to her. Placing her hand on her sword, she prepared herself to fight if need be. Quickly, the window rolled down and the man inside leaned over to poke his head out of it.

"Hey, Ice Queen, you lost or something?" Qrow asked her with an infuriating grin. "Because I -"

"If you think this is the best way to pick up women, then I can assure you that it's not." Hostility edged her voice; The last thing she wanted to deal with right now was him, especially given that she was stopping by the manor to see Weiss. Not to mention the fact that he had been one of the people at the forefront of her thoughts of late. A faint attraction for him spread through her, but she shook it off quickly as she maintained her indifferent composure.

"Okay, listen, Winter," Qrow attempted to act serious though his face betrayed him. "I know we're not great friends or anything, but I'm trying to help you out."

"The last time we saw each other, you destroyed Atlas military property and then coerced me into a fight -"

"Nah, you chose to fight me."

"Did not!" Winter declared indignantly. "And I'll have you know that I was lucky that I was able to convince General Ironwood to let me off for that! I could have been in serious trouble because of you!"

Qrow scoffed as he looked at her. "Jimmy only let you off because you are ridiculously loyal to -"

"I'm starting to feel the need to make good on my threat to remove your tongue." Winter remarked dryly as she cut him off.

"Where are you headed?" Qrow asked, desperately trying to change the subject.

"Doesn't matter."

"Ice Queen, you may act as if your heart is made of ice but it will actually be made of ice if you stay out here much longer like this. Lemme give you a ride. I swear I won't try anything funny." This time, she could tell that he was serious and she grudgingly gave out a sigh of agreement.

"Fine," She said as she got in the car. "But I swear Branwen, if you try anything I'll kill you."

"Wouldn't dream of dying today," Pulling away from the curb, Qrow turned to look at her just a little. "So, where are you headed?"

"The manor, I was going to see Weiss and then go back to my apartment downtown." Her reply was short and to the point, while she crossed her arms and tried to avoid confrontation. Now, of all times, was not a good time for her to get into a fight. Of all the people capable of provoking her, he was towards the top of the list.

"Isn't your father going to be there?" Qrow's voice had taken an uncharacteristically soft edge to it, something that she hadn't been expecting.

"What does it matter?"

"Why don't you explain that scar then?" Glancing at a spot just under her left cheek that had a faintly visible line, Qrow sighed. "I mean -"

"I was twenty-one and had just joined the military. My father got angry at me for my choice and slapped me when I brought up what Weiss and I heard him say to our mother through the door of his study just a few weeks before on Weiss's tenth birthday. The ring hit my cheek and it didn't quite heal right." Trying to stop the heavy anger that was bubbling beneath the surface, Winter took to brushing her bangs to steady her hands.

"And you still go back to that place?" Bewilderment and slight awe laced his voice. "Why?"

"Because, like it or not, my family is my family. Things aren't just black and white, especially not for us." Her tone was schooled and devoid of the heavy emotions that lay beneath it. "What is it to you?"

"Nothing," He responded far too quickly, causing her eyebrows to raise. "Okay, so maybe I care about you just a little. But it's only a little. Don't get the wrong idea."

"It better be just a little," Winter muttered as he pulled up onto the Schnee's long, winding driveway. "Thanks for the ride."

"I'll wait for you." Qrow promised as she got out. "It's not exactly a short walk back to the city."

"Branwen, I swear to -"

"Like I said, just trying to help you out."

"Fine," Winter responded with a harsh glare, masking her true emotions with her safe fall back. Anger. "I'll be back in an hour."

"I can wait."

As she slammed the door and stalked off into the manor, Qrow couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was despite her surface loathing of him. It was true that she had a tendency to get on his nerves with her burying herself in her work and her common hiding of whatever she may be feeling. At the same time, it was also true that he thought she was strong, fierce, beautiful, and much deeper than she was content with having the world believe. There were a few scarce moments that he could remember himself having real feelings for her that felt returned, but then he recalled moments like when they tore apart Beacon's courtyard - and that was just scratching the surface of the fights they'd had in the last few years. Thinking of Beacon pulled him back down from his thoughts of her; It sobered him to remember the state of the academy after Fall was done with it. Ozpin was dead, the academy in disrepair, James and Glynda flipping out... not that he didn't know that their flipping out involved more than just what happened to Beacon or even Ozpin. Despite his dislike of the man, Qrow admitted that he was glad that Glynda and James were happy. Seeing them come late to the meeting with Pyrrha Nikos, another name that caused his heart to drop, so obviously because they had lost track of time while alone was something that hit him harder than he cared to admit. He wanted something like that in his life even though he knew that their relationship wasn't always easy.

It didn't have to be easy, though. He wanted something real.

 


	2. Chapter 2

_**January 3rd  
**_ __ **City Of Atlas; Atlas**  
Uptown  
  
Numb. All he could he feel, everything about him. It was all numb. He was on his second or third round of shots and, as he looked around the bar, all he could do was frown. After he had dropped off Winter Schnee at her apartment complex back on the thirtieth, he was overcome with a sense of missing something as he drove away. At first he had written it off to missing his nieces, after all, he wasn't quite sure what was going on with them. That sense quickly morphed into anger, and he wrote that off to his earlier conversation with James and Glynda. As it got later though, and as the alcohol from the day had started to wear off, he found himself fantasizing what it would be like snog Winter. In spite of all of his affairs with countless women, Winter stood out in his mind as the kind of woman who would be difficult for him to deal with but one that he could have something real with.

Not that he was expecting that to happen.

"So, the dusty old crow ends up in a bar once again," The all-too familiar voice said as she sat down next to him. "Well, I'll have you know that I wouldn't mind a shot or two right now."

Qrow pushed one over to her and she took it down surprisingly well. "What are you doing here?"

"General Ironwood sent me to find you and -"

"Well tell Jimmy that I ain't doing anything -"

"Can you shut up and listen? He and Glynda need to talk to you about something to do with Ozpin."

"I'm shocked he hasn't told you what it is himself. He already turned his back on -"

Winter downed another several set of shots. "Qrow -"

"Seriously, James is a -"

Taking another one, Winter felt her voice raise in spite of herself. " _Qrow Branwen_!"

Qrow put his hands up in mock defeat. "All right, all right. I'll shut up. I'll go, but only because Glynda -"

A combination of disgust and irrational jealousy came through her. "If you make one sexual comment -"

"I'm not at all attracted to her, gross. Glynda terrifies me, if I'm being honest. Look, Ice Queen, you may accuse me of having a dirty mind, but believe me when I say that I have never wanted to be involved with Glynda Goodwitch." Qrow took down another shot before sighing. "Come on."

"Well then who are you attracted to?" Winter asked, genuine curiosity laced in her voice.

Qrow laughed before he looked at her seriously. "You really want to know the answer to that?"

Winter raised an eyebrow before laughing herself. "Do you honestly think that I'd ask that question if I didn't want to know the answer?"

"Of course you wouldn't but it makes sense with someone… well with someone like you to ask." Qrow shook his head as she got up with him. "I've liked a lot of women, I've been with a lot of women… but there is only one woman that I actually am attracted to."

"And who is that?" Winter asked as she opened the door to the car on her side while Qrow got in on his own.

"I don't think you'll like it…" He said as the car started but he leaned back and turned to look at her regardless. "I may not always find you to be easy to deal with, Ice Queen, but I am attracted to you."

With a sharp intake of breath, Winter was silent for several minutes before she cut the ignition in front of the government offices of the Atlesian council. "Are you joking?"

"Of course not," Qrow said, disappointed that she didn't believe him. "I -"

Impulsively and, likely in part due to the alcohol, Winter leaned over and kissed him. It was quick; Only a few seconds of their lips just more than brushing. Her blue eyes went wider than he could have thought possible as she pulled back and confliction crossed her face; Questions in regards to what she was doing written all across it. Confusion swept across his own as he tried to comprehend what they had both just did. Attempting to remind himself that it was little more than a brush, he tried to shake off the lingering feeling of energy on his lips that was slowly spreading all through him. Briskly opening the door and swinging her legs onto the pavement, Winter tried to neutralize herself but was struggling even as they walked into the meeting room where Glynda and James were waiting.

"Qrow," Glynda narrowed her eyes at his appearance. Turning to Winter, she sighed and crossed her arms with her crop still in hand. "Where did you find him?"  
Winter hesitated before a serious look from both Glynda and General Ironwood prompted her to go ahead. "He was at a bar; I'm not sure how long he -"

"I was there for a few hours at least," Qrow shrugged in spite of the glares he was getting from both the General and Glynda. "What? Neither of you should be surprised."

"Why is it that you can't take anything seriously for more than a few minutes?" Glynda snapped at him, her patience breaking though it wasn't as if she had much to begin with. "It's almost as if -"

"Glynda, calm down." Qrow put his hands up before looking briefly at Winter. "Just be glad that she dragged me out of there."

Looking over to Winter before she turned back to Qrow, Glynda took in the younger woman's appearance. "Qrow, listen to me. You know full well that now that Oz is -"

"You seem to be forgetting that Oz can -"

"If Oz reincarnated, don't you think we'd know about it by now?"

"Oh come on. Glynda, Oz is smart. He wouldn't tell anyone that he was back unless he -"

"Glynda's right, Qrow. If Oz was back he would have found a way to let us know by now." Ironwood sighed as he looked to Winter. "Dismissed, Schnee."

As Winter left, she had more questions than answers. Ozpin reincarnates? Not only that, but what had she done. And why did she want to kiss Qrow again?

 


	3. Chapter 3

__**January 6th**  
City Of Atlas; Atlas  
7:30 PM  
  
Looking over the reports sent over to her scroll by General Ironwood, Winter couldn't help it when she found her mind wandering. Most of her analysis was done, she just had to send it off, but it wasn't going along smoothly. Her thoughts kept going back to Qrow. It was starting to get a little annoying, actually, the amount of times his face had come into her thoughts. Over and over she'd be working on something or talking to Weiss and suddenly she found herself remembering the hazzy kiss she had with him. Cursing the alcohol at first for her impulsiveness, Winter passed it off to curiosity. She hadn't been in very many relationships before, and all of them had ended in disaster. Sometimes it was because she was a Schnee, other times it was because people found her to difficult to open to, and the most common offense was that she buried herself in her work to try and avoid feeling too much.

She had spent years doing this, whether it was training when she was younger or her actual duties in the military as she had gotten older. Her childhood had not been easy in the slightest although, when she really thought about it, she knew that Weiss had had it worse. Being eleven years older than her sister, she hadn't been able to help herself but feel as if she was being replaced the moment she found out that her mother was pregnant. Eleven years, and the then thirty-three year old Willow Schnee and her husband had decided to have another child. That anger slowly melted away as Winter forced herself to spend more time with Weiss and it eventually turned from only sisterly love to genuine understanding and a desire to protect. When she was fifteen, her parents had Whitley, and she knew by that point that it wasn't an accident.

Even though Weiss was only four years old, their father had already decided that he wanted somebody to replace her. It made her angry just thinking about it and, as she clenched her fists and examined the faint, crescent shaped marks on her palms, she tried to ground herself. Weiss was still only seventeen and, until her eighteenth birthday in November, she had no way to leave their parent's custody. Though, in fairness to their mother, this wasn't her fault. Actually, if Winter forced herself to set aside the resentment she still had towards her parents, nothing that had happened to her or her children was really Willow's fault.

Her marriage had been arranged and Jacques had convinced her for twenty-one years, two months and a few days that he loved her. She had know for a long time, or at least suspected, that her parent's marriage was not built on love. At least not on both sides, if one wanted to be technical. Things hadn't been great, but it was shitty luck that Winter and Weiss remembered the younger girl's tenth birthday all too well. The two sisters had gone looking for their mother after she had been gone for a while and  
overheard their parents arguing loudly in Jacques's study.

" _She's your daughter, at least see her for a few minutes!"  
_  
" _Willow -"  
_  
" _You love her, don't you? I've heard what Winter says and I don't believe it! She keeps insisting that we don't care about her - is the only person you love me?"  
_  
" _Sometimes you are incredibly naive, aren't you Willow?"  
_  
" _What are you talking about? You're acting like a complete -"  
_  
" _Willow, I don't know how you couldn't tell but while I may be… somewhat attracted to you, I don't love you and, even if I did, love is not the reason I married you."  
_  
" _Jacques, what are you saying?"  
_  
" _I mean that the only reason I married you was because of the Schnee family name and its fortune."  
_  
" _No… no… no. You can't be -"  
_  
" _Willow, you -"_  
  
Feeling slightly clammy, Winter sat down for a brief moment at the small bar attached to her kitchen peninsula. It wasn't long before she was back on her feet, reminded of yesterday. The bar. Qrow. Shaking her feelings aside, she pulled her scroll out again to read reports. Her feelings still persisted; Childhood memories, her drive to protect Weiss and teach her how to defend herself, the losses she shared with her sister. She wasn't about to deny that she felt attracted to Qrow, but she was afraid even though she would deny that vehemently. Things went horribly wrong with her own parents and their lives, so why would her own be any different? Yes, she wasn't her mother who let her emotions guide her, but at the same time she was afraid of letting people in. Maybe that was why people assumed she was not much more than a cold hearted ice queen who cared about three things and three things only: Her work, herself, and her sister.

A slightly urgent knock on the door tore her away from her thoughts. Shutting down her scroll and putting it away as the knocks continued, she tried to not let her annoyance get the best of her. It was reasonably late, so she couldn't imagine it being anyone from work. She didn't have very many friends left, making the chances of that slim. If it was Weiss, well she imagined that her sister would have called to tell her she was coming by and the same could be said of her parents. As she opened the door, her annoyance melted away to surprise when she realized that it was only Qrow.

Of course it was.

"Hey...Winter…" Slightly nervous, Qrow followed her into the apartment and he had to admit that the place was pretty nice. "So… there's something we need to talk about."

"What might that be?" She asked, her heart racing. "It's not as if we're particularly close."

"Winter, really, if we weren't reasonably close do you think you would have kissed me?" Qrow leaned against the counter and, to her surprise, didn't even pull out a drink.

"I was drunk, Qrow." She said, though she knew that wasn't entirely true.

"You didn't have that many shots," He pointed out to her with a shrug. "Although I suppose that was probably more alcohol than you've ever had in your entire life."

"You act as if I've never drank before." Winter stated as she crossed her arms. She wasn't in her uniform; Instead she was wearing a comfortable long-sleeved grey sweater that went off her shoulders paired with white leather pants. It was rare that he had seen her out of uniform, and he was finding himself thinking about how attractive she looked in her civilian clothes. "Quit staring at me." She snapped.

"Sorry, sorry," Qrow said as he shifted his gaze around her apartment. "It's just, you look great."

"Thank you, Qrow." Her voice was as polished as ever and even he knew that she was trying to keep it emotionless.

"Look, we both admit that we're attracted to each other, right?" Qrow started, trying to give them an easy bridge.

"Yes," Winter's reply was short but completely genuine.

"If I asked you out on a date, how would you feel about it?" He felt nervous asking that one, if it was the wrong thing he could imagine her slapping him. She didn't though, she instead sighed.

"I would want to say yes… but at the same time I wouldn't exactly say that I'm cut out to be in a relationship," Rubbing her arm in slight embarrassment, Winter forced herself to look at him.

Both confusion and concern passed through his expression. "What does that mean? Please don't tell me that for some reason -"

"It has nothing to do with my job," Winter snapped, though upon his hurt expression she softened her tone. "Qrow, do you have any idea how I was raised?"

"Isn't your father the world's greatest jackass?" He was smirking a little, but let it fall off his face when he realized that she was being serious. "Sorry, I know you don't like to talk about your family."

Remembering the last time they had tried to have an actual conversation a few months prior, Winter fought back tears as she recalled mentioning to him how awful and convoluted her parents marriage had turned out to be. She tried to remind herself that the only reason she had told him that was because he had started by telling her a little bit about his sister. It was no good though, because a few tears rolled off of her cheeks in spite of her best efforts. Noticing her tears, Qrow took a risk and placed a hand on her shoulder that she didn't immediately push away.

"Winter, if I had to bet...I'd say you have every reason to want to avoid a relationship. I get it. But… if you give me a chance, I'll try and do what I can to be right for you… even if I know that things may not end well."

"What is that supposed to mean?" She asked as she wiped the tears off of her cheeks, feeling childish.

"Have I ever told you about my semblance?" The look of confusion on her face said it all. "Basically… my semblance means that I bring bad luck for people I care about wherever I go."

"Qrow -"

"Listen, I'm willing to try to be something with you if you are willing to try and be something with me," Qrow looked at her seriously as he cupped her cheek which, surprising he once again, she didn't push away. "But if something happens to you and it's my fault… I'll have to go."

Deciding to take that risk, Winter brought her lips down on his as she had just three days prior but allowed herself to put more passion into it. He didn't fight her in the slightest, instead he only tried to bring her closer as they continued to snog. It wasn't until she was feeling out of breath that she broke the kiss and wrapped her arms around him. She was questioning everything she had just done as he was himself but, in the moment, they both chose not to care.

"Why don't you stay here for a few hours and we can watch a film?" She suggested, moving over into her living room as he followed. "Just don't try anything funny, okay?"

"I'm not really one to push my luck for anything," He told her as he relaxed into the couch while she put in a DVD and pressed play before curling up next to him.  
 _  
I have no idea what I'm doing, am I? We don't even know each other that well...although I suppose this is where we start. I try to understand him and he tries to understand me. Complicated, I guess._

 


	4. Chapter 4

_**January 7th** _   
_**City Of Atlas; Atlas** _   
_**1:30 PM** _

"Qrow…" Winter half-glared at the man as he leaned against the doorway. "Now really isn't a good time."

"How come?" He asked with a smirk. "Too much work?"

"It...it's not that." She admitted, feeling nervous that he might ask the next question. "Just...please let me deal with this right now."

"Are you sure I can't help?" Qrow's smirk melted off his face into serious concern. "Did something happen?"

"Not anything that concerns you," She informed him, trying to not let her emotions get the best of her.

"Well then -"

"My sister is here right now, and I'm trying to -"

"I get it," He said, taking her hands in his. "Do you want me to come back later?"

Winter sighed, her hair was falling out of her usually well-kept bun and her bangs needed to brushed aside better. For now, she opted to do so with her fingers but knew that it wouldn't do much for long. "Give me an hour or two and then we can have some time together, okay?"

"That's fair," Pulling her into an awkward embrace before leaving, Qrow tried to comfort her.

They had spent most the past evening talking; He had explained some of his family and she had done the best she could to explain hers. It was a struggle, he knew, for her to open up to him in the way that she had but at the same time it wasn't necessarily easy for him to talk about Raven and the tribe or to remember Summer Rose. The eight years between them had been much more noticeable than they had been expecting just from having a reasonably long conversation; They were at the same level as a huntsman and huntress but they had seen different things. She was less aware of some of the finer details of the other kingdoms than he was because most of her work stayed in Atlas, usually going to Vale on occasion if for some reason she was needed there. On the other hand, he had seen some of the crazier aspects of the world. Small villages with shady people for less than respectable jobs and dangerous psychopaths were part of his speciality. He had chosen to leave out some of the aspects of what had happened to him because of his semblance; That run in with a pyromaniac a few years before that he should have died from. The only reason he survived was because of his ability to turn into an actual crow.

He had left that part out too. Whether or not James had told her about the maidens, Salem, and whatnot, he didn't want to risk anything. Besides, he had the feeling that if she knew about that particular ability that she would have brought it up. Restraining herself when it came to asking questions didn't seem easy and he could imagine that whatever the reason Weiss was there could not be good. Something must have happened or, if it hadn't already, was going to. The fact that he knew anything about her father increased his concern.

After all, the man wasn't known for being especially understanding or sympathetic.

Back in her apartment, Winter leaned against the counter while she let Weiss cry. Mother wasn't doing any better and, according to Whitley, she might be getting worse. She had home less than three weeks and, as Weiss perceived it, things were much worse than they were before she had left. Their parents were still fighting on what seemed to be nearly a daily basis and they ended poorly, as expected. Winter had been around for some of these, whether she was trying to be less estranged from her parents of if she was conveying a message to their father from General Ironwood. Either way, if Weiss was crying about how much worse things had gotten, things were not looking up.

"I...I had to…" Weiss trailed off again as she tried to make herself stop crying to no avail. "Klein was able to...to get me out of the...the house long enough...to come and...see you...because...because I...I came to talk to...to mother...and she...she...her hand was bleeding and…"

"Weiss," Winter came over to her sister and pulled her into a hug while letting the younger girl cry into her. "You don't have to spell the next part out for me, I know."

"Why does she keep doing it? I...I thought that things had changed…" Stopping her thoughts as she continued to cry, Weiss reminded herself that it was only Winter and that she wasn't angry with her.

"Mother has been cutting herself for a few years, Weiss, and we both know it. You were fifteen when it started and -"

"I know that!" Weiss snapped through fresh tears. "But it...it doesn't make it any better! She...she, she's been drinking more and...and father doesn't even seem to care!"

"Weiss...shh...shh, I know. It's not easy for you, it's not easy for any of us. I -" Angrily sighing as she heard a knock at the door, she remembered Qrow. "Weiss, listen to me," She said as she helped her sister up. "I have a...date with someone and I need you to go home. Send me a message if you need me. Okay?"

The younger Schnee nodded while she tried to look less like she had been crying. She knew that when she got home that her father was going to be less than pleased that she left, especially when he realized that she had been with Winter. She was about to leave when she saw who her sister was talking to. Qrow. Ruby's uncle. Sadness came back to her once again; Remembering any of her teammates was hard but Ruby was the hardest. She wasn't sure why but, around the time their second semester at Beacon started, Weiss had begun to feel a little bit attracted to the red-headed girl. She had never acted on any of those feelings but that didn't mean that they weren't there. The worst part about it was the fact that Ruby might never know and that she would never know if the younger girl felt anything towards her. Still, it was odd seeing her sister with Qrow in a context that wasn't followed by fighting. Shaking her thoughts aside, Weiss took one last glance at her sister before getting into the car and heading back to the manor.

Slamming the door behind them, Winter sent Qrow a sharp glare before letting it slide off her face. "Qrow -"

"You said an hour or two and it's been two hours," He said, showing her the time on his scroll, much to her annoyance.

"Yes but -"

"Winter, are you sure you're okay?" Qrow moved closer to her and, though she tensed at first, she slowly relaxed. "Really, is something -"

"My family is very complicated Qrow and Weiss is struggling to deal with some of the aspects of that specifically related to our mother." Winter said, trying not to dwell on it too  
long. "But I'd rather not go there right now."

He nodded. "Okay. So, what about us?"

"You want to go there?" She asked with half a smile. "Does this answer your question?" Winter kissed him before she wrapped her arms around him. "Well?"

"Yeah, it does." Qrow pulled her into him while he ran his fingers through her hair which was currently down. "Seriously though, are we actually in a relationship or are we -"

"I would say that we're in a relationship although it's only the very start. I have no idea where this will go and that does scare me a little." Winter sighed as she looked at him.

"Qrow, in most of the years we've known each other, all we've ever done is fight and I don't know how far this will get."

"I don't know either," He admitted. "But we're gonna try, right?"

"Of course we are!" She snapped, but softened her expression when she realized how that came off. "I'm sorry, Qrow, it's just difficult for me to be relinquishing some control over my life. I've never been in a real relationship before that has actually lasted."

"Winter," He started slowly in an attempt to show her that he cares. "I don't know what the other people you've been involved with were like, but they sound like dicks. I'm not going to do that to you, I promise. I don't want to hurt you. I've had an attraction to you for several years now, if I'm being honest."

"And yet you still provoked a fight between us that -"

"That was because I was beyond drunk and you know it." Qrow smirked a little as he recalled it. "You were the one who pointed it out first though. The best part, though, was Glynda's reaction. I'm not sure if she ever liked me very much, but I think that may have been the lowest point I've ever gotten with her. See, when I was at Beacon in my first year we had the Vytal festival and Glynda and her team were in their last year at Atlas. She and Jimmy were actually partners which is funny because now -"

"Qrow -"

"Sorry, sorry. Anyway, I'll admit that I hit on her a little and that she slapped me. It was funny that about five years later we were both working with Ozpin and she didn't remember me until I asked her if she 'liked what she saw'. That got me slapped a second time. Basically, I'm a little afraid of her."

"You're actually afraid of someone?" Winter incredulous; She knew that Glynda and Qrow were not fond of each other, but she didn't realize the history of it.

He laughed a little before elaborating. "She uses a riding crop as a weapon and her semblance is telekinesis. I'm pretty sure that everyone should be afraid of her, including James and they've been together for I don't even know how long but that thing with the elevator -"

"I don't need to nor want to hear this!" Winter declared as she prevented him from finishing that thought.

"Yeah, I guess that would probably haunt you for the rest of your life." He paused for a minute before letting her go. " So, what are we doing tonight?"

"Another film and talking," She told him as she tried, in vain, to make her hair less of a mess. "Don't try anything."

"Believe me," Qrow said as he leaned into the couch. "With you especially I don't want to."


	5. Chapter 5

__**January 9th**  
City Of Atlas; Atlas  
Downtown  
  
"What time did you tell Qrow he needed to be downstairs?" Glynda asked as she continued to look for her scroll. "Damn it, where did I -"

"Right here," James tossed her scroll to her and she caught it but not without a glare. "It should be about an hour from now, but I'm not sure if he'll be there."

"Of course," Glynda rolled her eyes, knowing that Qrow was already less than thrilled that James was still involved.

"It's alright, really," Coming over to her and wrapping his arms around her waist, he tried to get her to relax. "Besides, since we've got time -"

"Shut up," She said, pulling him down into a kiss. "I don't need to hear it."

He smiled as he brought her in to him close. "We really are each other's best distraction, aren't we?"

"Three words," Glynda said with a smirk. "'Sorry we're late'."

"I remember that," James kissed her forehead while she leaned further into their embrace. "Do you think Oz ever figured it out?"

"I hope not!" She exclaimed though she was half laughing. "But I wouldn't be surprised if Qrow had said something to him about why that was the case."

"It was my fault and -"

"Damn right it was! I told you we were going to be late, but you convinced me that it was okay and then we ended up almost -"

"In the elevator -"

"We almost got caught -"

"But we didn't," He reminded her with another kiss. "Princess, it was fine."

"I know," She admitted, sliding her scroll into her skirt pocket. "But we should probably head down."

He looked at the time for a brief moment before he nodded. "You're right."

Taking her hand, the two of them locked up the apartment before heading down the corridor into the elevator. They were on the twenty-second floor and, though they both agreed that they should know better, it wasn't long before she was wrapping her arms around him and was bringing him towards her into a passionate, enveloping kiss. Lifting her up while continuing to kiss her, he was relieved to be getting to be alone with her. She wrapped her legs around him as well and his arms tightened around her. It wasn't easy - her heels gave her three inches and in them there was only an inch of height difference between them. Still, they managed it and she tried to in vain figure out why she had pushed him away all those years ago. They were both thirty-nine and had been partners while at Atlas Academy but they had taken different paths and she, now, admitted that she had been afraid. They had kept contact though they hadn't been as close as they had been. They both rose in their careers and, while they had seen each other before them, it wasn't until he came to Beacon that she realized that she still loved him.

Though she had made every effort to ignore the fact, she gave up by the time the dance had come around. That had been one of the best nights she had had in a long time; Both of them had forgotten how good it felt to be in each other's arms. Though neither were willing to admit it, they had met up after everything was sorted out with the dance and what Ruby Rose had seen at the top of Beacon Tower. She had pulled him off to her apartment in Vale and, by the end of the night, she had found out that he hadn't stopped caring about her. Once they both admitted that they still had feelings for each other, they had ended up in bed although that didn't negate the fact that they continued to keep their relationship a secret. That was, until she came to Atlas after the fall and they both publicly admitted to being in a relationship. Their dance while at Beacon Academy was one of her favourite moments and it was certainly one of her happiest.

_Though she had not wanted to acknowledge it at first, she decided it was best not lie to herself anymore. Taking his hand, not without some of her natural sass, she let herself lean into him in spite of herself. Her cape fluttered softly behind her as she spun and she let herself fall back into the memories from when the two of them were in Atlas Academy. They had been made partners during initiation and, despite the lack of patience that characterized the two of them, though it wasn't always the easiest pairing they somehow managed to work it out. Towards the end of their second year, he admitted that he loved her and, by the time their third year started, she eventually did the same. One of her favourite moments during their fourth year was when the two of them found a rare moment away from their teammates and the two of them found themselves in each other's arms. That feeling came back as they moved together over twenty years on._

_"Glynda -"_

_Unsure of why she was admitting it, she didn't stop herself from kissing him quickly before speaking. "I love you."_

_"I know." James brought her closer with a sigh. "Glynda, you know that I still love you. I haven't stopped and -"_

_She kissed him again, though this time with more passion. "Why did we decide to not even try to make things work?"_

_"I don't know, Princess," James caressed her arms affectionately, using the endearment for her that he hadn't used in years. They may have remained close friends over the years, but their romance had ended when she went back to Vale, where she was from, and he remained in Atlas upon joining the military. "But I wish we hadn't."_

_"I wish we hadn't either but we were so young and..." Shaking her head as she let him hold her, she tried not to let her emotions get too far ahead of her. "Do you really still want me? After all this time? I know that -"_

_Before she could finish, he brought his lips down on hers in a fervent kiss that eventually bridged into something a little more. "Of course I still want you, Glynda, I love you."_

_"I want you too," She admitted quietly. "I'm a little scared of where this may go but...but I want to try. I really do love you, James, and -"_

_"Then let's try again."_

_"There's just one thing I need you to do."_

_"What's that?"_

_"Promise me that you aren't going to leave me again." Glynda's voice was unusually soft but it was clear at the same time._

_James gave her a light squeeze of affection. "Of course I won't leave you again - you mean too much to me."_

She had to admit that her fears still stood to some extent even now, but she wasn't going to let them make the same mistake that she had made the last time they had been in a romantic relationship. Whether or not anyone else quite understood the complicated past she had with James, she knew that while they were both taking warnings from their past that they weren't letting themselves be dominated by it. There was only one thing that made her wish that they hadn't done things in the way they did and it was the accident she had been in three years ago. She had always known that, due to a hormonal imbalance which had led to her ridiculous height of 6'2'' even without heels amongst other things, her ability to have children was in a perpetual balance. After the accident in the southeast during in an investigation, that became no longer even a possibility. If she had been able to have another chance, she admitted that she only regretted being unable to have a child with the one person she truly loved. Before she had told him, she had been scared that he wouldn't understand but he did. He promised her that he was just happy to have her and they both knew that he meant it.

Dealing with each other had had its ups and downs in recent years but, as they grew closer once again, things started to become easier. Yes, they argued sometimes for no apparent reason and sometimes they were both so impatient that a fight was instigated in that way but in the end they managed to work things out. Every moment that they had alone, every second that they spent in each other's embrace, all of them only reminded them of the love they felt towards the other even if it wasn't necessarily easy. Some of the most affectionate moments between them were the silent or near silent ones; She'd sometimes wake up to his hands playing with her pale blonde waves or sometimes she'd find an excuse to curl into him.

"I love you, Princess." James promised her as he brought her closer.

"I love you too…" Glynda leaned her head onto his shoulder - still coiled tightly around him - just as the doors opened without them paying enough attention to notice right away.

"Woah, okay then…" Qrow stared at the two of them in shock as the General put her down and she adjusted her glasses. "Well, I guess that confirms a few things...damn."

The immediate response that he got from her was a glare. "Qrow -"

"I don't need to or want to hear it, Glynda." Qrow shuddered in exaggeration to prove his point while she glared at him and took her crop in hand. "And please don't hurt me."

"I should," She snapped while she blushed, irritated by his smirk and the euphemism. "I really -"

"It's not worth it," James told her, giving her a squeeze before she could make an attempt at murder. "It's not."

"I know," She conceded as Winter came in.

"Good thing for me," Qrow muttered as he had some of his questionable alcohol. Noticing Winter, he tried to not think about their date the night before. "Why is she here?"

Winter scowled at him for a brief moment. "Why are you here, Branwen?"

"And you think this is a good idea?" Glynda asked James, her arms crossed. "I'll give it a few weeks before the reports come in that they've killed each other."

"Glynda -"

"Don't even, James, you know just as well as I do that -"

"That what?" Qrow asked, concern starting to come to him. "Well?"

"Schnee, you already know about the plans to scout the remains of Beacon Academy." James started, continuing when Winter nodded. "That's still going to happen, but there are some...more concerning reports coming in from Mistral. You're still going to be in Vale next week, but then you'll be in Mistral for the next several following that."

"Yes sir," Winter responded though she was nervous about Qrow's glare.

"How am I involved in this?" Qrow demanded, wanting to know why Glynda thought that he and Winter were going to kill each other.

"I can't give you orders, Qrow -"

"Damn right you can't," He growled, feeling annoyed at the fact that that needed saying. "I'm not one of your special operatives, Jimmy."

"General -" Winter corrected though she knew he didn't care.

"It doesn't matter. What -"

"Qrow, I was just going to _suggest_ that since you know Vale well that you go with for the first part of the mission." It was clear that James was trying not to get too annoyed with Qrow and he was not surprised by the response he got.

"I ain't going back to Beacon, you're crazy if you think I am. I am, on the other hand, going to go to Patch to check on my nieces." Qrow glared as he left, followed by Winter shortly after.

"Qrow!" She was half running after him and by the time he stopped she needed a minute to catch her breath. "Are -"

"Winter, if you think that I can bring myself to see what happened to Beacon again then you're just as crazy as James is for suggesting it." He sighed, pulling her into a quick hug. "Look, I'll be in contact but I've got to keep an eye on my nieces first and foremost. I promise, it won't be that long before I see you again."

"Qrow -"

"Winter, it's fine. We're still in a relationship but we both have to travel. It's in both of our job descriptions. Seriously, if I don't make contact with you in three weeks you can call Ironwood and ask to know where I am." Pulling her in for a second time, he tried to make this one linger. "It's not going to be long."

"It better not be, or I'm going to regret all of this." Winter muttered darkly as the two of them went separate ways for the time being.

Thing was, they weren't going to stay separate for all that long. Even if they didn't realize it.


	6. Chapter 6

January 21st  
Mistral  
6:45 AM

Winter almost fainted when she saw an unconscious and clearly injured Qrow Branwen get brought off the airship. She kept her distance as the teenagers continued to move into their refuge with him, but she also found herself holding back from going after them. In the end, she gave into her curiosity and her concern for Qrow though that was not her only motivation. Seeing Ruby Rose was enough to pique her interest because she knew just as well as anyone else that if Weiss knew that Ruby was there that she would do something about it. Her sister had admitted shortly after her return to Atlas that she was attracted to Ruby but she also admitted that she didn't know what to do about those feelings. Compounded with their father's notion that she shouldn't be involved with a huntsman or a huntress, which Winter imagine would be an even more uncomfortable conversation, Weiss had kept her mouth shut about everything.

Shit really had hit the fan for Weiss recently, though, all things considered. Though tensions between the defunct kingdom of Mantle and the other major kingdoms of Remnant were high, there was still a demand for gossip and the Schnee family was a prime example of gossip-worthy material. The family had been under media scrutiny since the moment Jacques married Willow and as time had gone on and things had gotten more and more grey ethically speaking when it came to the Schnee Dust Company, that had only increased. Not only that but, once Winter joined the Atlesian military as a special operative, familial division became the prime target. The current scandal was about Weiss; During the SDC Charity Ball, she got angry at one of the women present and summoned a grimm that got set on her. The woman didn't get hurt but insisted on Weiss's arrest, which General Ironwood refused to do. Later, Winter found out that her father had removed Weiss's status as heiress and given it to Whitley. It was all convoluted and horrible, but acknowledging that wasn't going to change anything no matter how many people in Atlas had deduced that there was a correlation to what Weiss did and the removal of her status.

Carefully making her way into the building, Winter tried to maintain an appearance of calm. She wasn't quite sure what she and Qrow had; At the moment, she wanted to believe that he cared about her and that they were in the beginnings of a relationship but she also knew that their relationship was new for both of them and that the separation could have been the end. Her relief that he was still alive, though injured badly, was immense but she couldn't tell if that was because she had romantic feelings for him or because she was years past done with watching other people suffer. Recently that feeling had increased because her mother was currently hospitalized after a suicide attempt - Winter had gone to see her sister but when she checked in on her mother, the room had been eerily silent. It wasn't until she found her mother lying on the bathroom floor with a bottle of sleeping pills next to her that she screamed. Klein managed to get the paramedics fast enough to save Willow but things didn't look good, even now.

"Weiss?" Ruby's voice echoed in confusion in the corridor though it abated when Winter turned around. "Oh, sorry, Winter."

She knew that her civilian clothes were probably a little misleading but that didn't stop her from feeling a little annoyed. Still, she was relieved to see that Ruby was alright; If anything, that would be a comfort for Weiss. "Is Qrow alright?"

"Uh…" Ruby looked taken aback though the older woman couldn't blame her. "I mean, he's woken up...sort of. I...I, he seems a little confused but I think he'll be okay. That stinger was pretty bad because the venom -"

"Ruby, I know the last time Qrow and I -"

"You two kind of tore apart our courtyard…" The girl shrugged but smiled a little as she remembered it. "Are you here because -"

"I want to talk to him and," Off of Ruby's confused look, she sighed. "I promise I won't start any fights."

Ruby nodded and dragged the eldest Schnee down the hall and propped open the door, poking her head in. "Uncle Qrow?"

"What is it Ruby?" Qrow shifted to look at his niece who moved out of the way and pushed Winter into the room. His eyes widened in surprise and, as she closed the door, all he could think about was what she was doing there. "Winter?"

"What happened, Qrow?" She asked, her voice much softer than usual as he groaned while pulling himself up to see her better. "Ruby said -"

Qrow laughed sarcastically, knowing that Ruby could have made it sound much worse than he perceived it as. "I'm fine, Ice Queen. Were you really worried about me?"

"Of course I was!" In spite of herself, Winter found that she was fighting back tears. "I haven't really got much of an idea of what we are and I -"

"Hey, calm down...calm down." He said as she moved over towards him hesitantly. "Look, I'm alright. And as for what we are, I thought it was pretty well established that we're together."

"Well we've been separated -"

"That doesn't change it," Qrow sighed and she tried to hold back from snapping or leaning over to kiss him on impulse. "That doesn't change a damn thing unless you want it to."

Winter wiped away the few rogue tears that had escaped her eyes against her will. "I guess I…"

"You really haven't been with any guys who aren't complete assholes before, have you?" Qrow smirked and leaned over some to pull her into as much as embrace as possible.

"Seriously, I told you that I wanted to try to be something real with you and I meant it."

"I -"

"I get it, Ice Queen, you aren't used to this and I'm sure that I'm the last person that you thought that you'd find yourself in a relationship with -" Qrow's thought was cut off by her swiftly kissing him. "Winter -"

"I...I… Qrow… I…"

"I love you," Qrow told her with a small smile. "Seriously, I love you."

"Qrow, I -"

"We can take things slow if you want to, Winter. I -"

"Qrow, how did the accident happen?" Winter was quiet but more serious than he was used to seeing her - and he had seen her when she was doing her job as a specialist.

"Qrow, I swear to -"

"My semblance caused it," He admitted, a nervous look in his eye. "I was trying to save Ruby and the stinger went into me."

"Qrow -"

"If you ever wanted to know what could happen to people who get too close to me," He began darkly. "Then this would be a pretty good example."

"Or it could be simply -"

"Bad luck," His eyes narrowed for a brief moment before he rolled on to his back and grunted irritably. "If you want to walk out now, I'm not going to stop you because you deserve someone better than me. I'm older than you, I've got a messed up past that I have to deal with, and I could hurt you."

"Well," She said as she sat down next to him, toulsing his hair. "I'm staying."

 

January 22nd  
City Of Atlas; Atlas  
Downtown

Though it was almost two in the morning, Glynda was finding sleep elusive. This in part had to do with the fact that she was still haunted by the state of Beacon Academy in her dreams, but it more so had to do with the fact that her mind would not shut off. Climbing out of bed as quietly as she could without waking James, she picked up her glasses and put them back on before walking out onto the balcony that overlooked the city. The rain had just stopped and everything was still wet but she didn't care. It reminded her of her home in Vale as a child though that was bittersweet for her to recall. She remembered going out on her parent's balcony late at night to read or to listen to music by herself and she especially remembered watching the streets of the city of Vale below her with curiosity - there were so many people.

The city was still being repaired though the Valerian council was doing everything that it had to the power to do to ensure that the repairs wouldn't take much longer. As for Beacon, Port and Oobleck were still there and although she had spent weeks there trying to fix it, she couldn't stand seeing the damage that the fall had caused. Both of them had been supportive of her decision to go to Atlas and she was relieved that it had gone well. Glynda hadn't been all that surprised in that regard since, technically speaking, she was Atlesian. One of her parents was Valerian and the other Atlesian but they had raised her in Atlas until she was fifteen and then she went back to attend Atlas Academy. She lived in the kingdom for a few years after that before she was offered a job in Vale at Beacon and permanently went back there for work. Legally, she was both but she felt more Valerian than not because of how long she spent there as an adult.

It was not terribly late, just about five in the evening, and she had just arrived in Atlas. She knew that was going to be taking a risk by grabbing her bags and going directly to James's apartment but she decided to not care. It was six by the time she finally got there and, to her relief, he was there. The second she had set down her bags and closed the door, his arms were tightly around her and her lips were looking for his. Once they found them, she drew him closer while continuing to kiss him and it took only a few minutes before she was finding herself on top of him on the couch. Squeaking a little before laughing weakly and laying in his arms while he ran his fingers through her messy hair, she let her relief of being with him settle.

"Glynda..."

"What? I thought you wanted me to come here."

"I thought you were staying in Vale."

"Maybe I missed you beyond belief."

"Did you?"

"Of course I did - I missed you the moment you left but I also couldn't stay there."

"It's my fault, I'm sorry, I should have -"

"Don't even say it - you know just as well as i do that you couldn't have stopped the fall .It was probably a good thing that the Atlas -"

"Glynda -"

"Stop it, please, it's not your fault. I'm just glad that you're okay. You could have died in that crash and then I…" Glynda trailed off as she started to cry in spite of herself. "James I...I love you."

He sighed and pulled her closer. "I love you too, I promise."

She smiled and kissed his forehead. "I might not leave.

"I can live with that." James ruffled her hair and she softly smiled before kissing him deeply.

She smiled as she remembered that. They had talked for over an hour before the two of them had given up and ended up in bed together - not for the first time. Though she had known that he wasn't going to leave her or that stop loving her, it was a relief to know that sure. He admitted later that he had been scared that he had lost her and that she had decided that it was too stressful to be in a relationship with him again. She had slapped him after that before pulling him into a passionate kiss. She had called him an idiot for thinking that and swore that if that had been the case that she would have made it clear.

"Are you okay?" Wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her in as she turned around, James looked at her in concern while she sighed.

"Trouble sleeping - you know that. I'm assuming the same applies to you."

"How did you guess?"

"The two of us have been this way for years and I -"

Cutting her off with a kiss, he tried to comfort her. "It's going to be alright, I promise."

Pushing her hair away her eyes, she paused. "I hope so."

"I love you, and I'm not going anywhere. I've got you." James kissed her again before she rested in his arms.

"I love you too," She murmured before he helped her back inside and the two of them fell asleep in each other's arms.


	7. Chapter 7

**_January 29th_** ** _  
_** ** _Mistral_** ** _  
_** ** _8:30 PM_** ** _  
_**  
The day had been pretty long but it was nothing compared to what he was imagining was coming for the next. The fact that he was going to be showing a group of teenagers Mistral before meeting with Leo was going to drag the next day on and on. At least, he supposed, the fact that he healed was good and it was very good that Winter was there. She hadn’t been eager to leave him alone while he was dealing with the after effects of the stinger but, on Ruby’s persistent pleas to let him rest rather than talk, she had relented however grudgingly. Now that he was doing better, he didn’t want her to go away for very long - not that he really had wanted to to begin with. His dreams had turned less from being a bad luck charm and more towards having sex with her though he knew better than anyone that she would reject the idea if he brought it up at the moment. That was not to say that they weren’t passionate - they had snogged for over ten minutes in the corridor outside the room before Ruby accidently ran into them and freaked out. Of all the people she had expected her uncle to get involved with, Winter Schnee was one of the last of them. Her normally perfectly done hair had been down and one hand tightly wound in it while the other was pulling her closer and was low on her back. Her arms had been around his neck, and the two of them had been virtually impervious to what had been going on. That was, until Ruby screamed.  
 _  
“Oh my god!” Ruby looked at the two adults in surprise as they broke apart. “Uncle Qrow!”_ _  
_ _  
“Ruby...” Qrow didn’t even have to try to act annoyed - that was simply how he was. “Look, kid -”_ _  
_ _  
“Are you two dating?” The red-headed girl half-squealed. “That’s crazy - I mean, in a good way, but I thought that the two of you hated each other?”_ _  
_ _  
“We don't hate each other,” Winter insisted. “I mean it Ruby.”_  
 _  
“Well...I mean you kind of tore apart our courtyard…” The young girl rubbed her arm sheepishly before giggling. “But, I mean, this is great! Are you two happy?”_ _  
_ _  
“Yes,”  Winter told her, an arm wrapped around Qrow. “But -”_ _  
_ _  
“No, I get it…” Ruby said, bouncing in place. “I’ll leave you two to...whatever it is you’re doing.”_ __  
  
Hearing Winter sigh in the doorway, Qrow turned around looked at her. She was wearing long silk pants that brushed the ground and were tied at the waist and she also was in a long sleeved top that went off her shoulders exposing them and her muted pink bra straps. Her long, white hair was down though the faintest bit of her natural black was seeping in at the roots.  Her left arm was up against the door frame and her hip was leaning against it in the opposite direction. All he could think about was how beautiful she looked and, getting up from his little corner where he had been reading on his scroll, he came over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She smiled and pulled him into a kiss before he brought her into a tight embrace.  
  
“Miss me, Ice Queen?” Qrow asked, rubbing his thumb against her slightly pink cheek. “‘Cause I missed you.”  
  
“Well…” Winter said, bringing him into a kiss and biting his lower lip slightly as she broke it. “What do you think? After all, I’m standing right before you and -”  
  
Qrow brought her back into a kiss, this time with more passion. Their lips met in a frenzy and fought for dominance as she grabbed fistfuls of his dark, spiky hair. His arms wrapped themselves tightly around her waist and brought her closer to him as they continued to snog and they didn’t even stop as her back gently began to press against the wall. All she did was draw him closer and he slowly began to tread his fingers through her darkening locks. It wasn’t until she felt his hands on her back that she broke the kiss with a heavy sigh. Gently pushing him away, Winter looked at him with her eyes both wide and tired before she loosely wrapped her arms around him.  
  
“I can’t, Qrow, not right now.” Winter told him, her voice quiet. “I’m not ready for that.”  
  
“Okay,” He nodded and kissed her forehead in little more than a peck and held her close. “It’s up to you.”   
  
Taking his hand in hers, Winter squeezed it with a small smile and the two of them walked out of the room. Though it was drizzling slightly and the sun was beginning to set, Winter and Qrow walked around the city of Mistral for awhile, hand in hand, without speaking. It was nice to be able to spend some time together that they knew would go uninterrupted and even the silence was nice. It wasn’t awkward, it felt natural. Though she was worried about how was holding up in Atlas, she tried to reason with herself that nothing had happened because she would have heard about it by now if something had. Of course, it was certainly not comforting to know that she was with their father or that their mother was still not getting any better, at least the last time she had checked. All she could do was hope that she was alright and that things weren’t getting too much harder for her. Whitley, she could imagine, wasn’t helping in the slightest. In spite of the fact that she knew full well that her brother wasn’t as bad as he could make himself out to be, she also knew that he was similar to their father in many regards and the last thing she wanted was for him to do something to intentionally hurt Weiss. Not that he hadn’t done things that had appeared to be that way before.  
  
“You alright, Winter?” Qrow asked, squeezing her hand. “You seem tense.”  
  
Cursing her noticeable tension, Winter sighed. “I’m fine, Qrow, really.”  
  
Qrow looked at her in concern before nodding. “Okay. But if something’s bothering you, I don't have a problem with talking about it if that’ll make you feel better.”


	8. Chapter 8

**_January 30th_ ** ****_  
_ **_City Of Atlas; Atlas_ ** ****_  
_ **_Downtown_ ** ****_  
_   
Wrapping his arms tightly around Glynda as he came up from behind her, James smiled as she turned around with a squeak of surprise and wrapped her arms around his neck. Resting in his arms, she smiled lightly as he kissed her jaw before finally reaching her lips and drawing her closer as they deepened their kiss. Her fingers threaded into his hair and tousled it lovingly while she continued to press her lips against his with passion. His hands were low on her waist and held her securely while she let her emotions guide her as she slowly deepened it further still as she felt her back press up against the wall. It wasn’t until he pulled away just long enough to kiss her cheek and lift her up into his arms that she sighed and rested her head on his shoulder while he pushed her glasses back up and traced the faintly visible scar on her neck just below her left ear.   
  
“Princess…” James murmured as he noticed the tears in her eyes as she remembered the state of Beacon. “I know things are hard for you, but I’ve got you.”   
  
Wiping her tears away as they started to fall, she found that she was angry at herself for being so sensitive. “No...no, I’m just being weak.”   
  
“Glynda Goodwitch, the last thing you are is weak.” James promised her, kissing her gently. “You’ve found ways to carry on even through pain when others would have succumbed to their fears.”   
  
“I’m crying for almost no reason -”   
  
“Glynda the fall was horrible and -”   
  
“I’m handling it poorly! So what if I can get angry with the council of Atlas? So what if I can put -”   
  
Cupping her face in his hands as he set her down gently on the counter, James tried to reason with her. “Princess, what is this really about? It can’t just be about the fall, can it?”   
  
Setting her crop down next to her, Glynda buried her face in her hands. “James, I…”   
  
“What’s bothering you?” James asked her as he took her hands in his. “Really, it’s okay. I want to know.”   
  
For several long moments, Glynda didn’t speak, rather, she tried to get her thoughts in order before she found the will to speak. When she did, it was quiet and unusually soft, something that surprised him greatly. “James...why do you even love me?”   
  
Of all the things he had expected her to say, that was the last of them. “Glynda...are you serious?”   
  
“Of course I am!” She snapped, tears flowing again against her will. “Because I...I -”   
  
“Glynda, I’ve loved you since we were at fucking Atlas Academy!” James exclaimed, pulling her close and rubbing her back affectionately. “I only left because you told me that -”   
  
“I don't think I can handle this…” Glynda mumbled remembering the look of hurt on his face when she had pushed him away. “And yet even though we tried to stay close I...I still ended up hurting you because you still wanted me when I didn’t want you.”   
  
“It wasn’t just black and white, Princess.” James said as he took her into his arms and carrying her into their room. “Of all the things that are important to me in this world, you are probably at the top of that list -”   
  
“James, doesn’t it bother you that I pushed you away and -”   
  
“No, it doesn't.” James told her passionately. “Glynda, I hoped that you still loved me and I was so happy that  -”   
  
“I love you, James  -”   
  
“I know, and I love you -”   
  
Sighing in irritation, Glynda shook her head as she remembered the day that she had left for Vale with semi-permanency attached to it. “I...I’m still a mess -”   
  
James cut her words off with a light kiss. “No, you aren’t. You’re the -”   
  
“James Ironwood, I’ve hurt you before and I hated doing it -”   
  
“Glynda, I don't know what I have to do to prove that I won’t leave you!” James pulled her into him tightly as she swayed the second that her feet were on the ground once again. “Unless you want me to, I’m never going to leave you! I love you so much and -”   
  
“I need you,” She told him, forcing her tears to stop steadily flowing down her face as she wrapped herself tighter around him. “I love you, and I -”   
  
James took her hands in his and kissed her deeply, letting his emotions guide him. “Glynda Catherine Goodwitch, will you marry me?”   
  
Tightly wrapping her arms around him after kissing him again, Glynda nodded and rested her head on his shoulder. “Yes…”   
  
Slipping a silver ring in the design of a vine with two teal and one purple gem onto her finger, James rubbed her back before holding her at arms length. “Glynda, I -”   
  
“I love you so much James,” Glynda said as she pulled him into another passionate kiss. A smile gracing her face, she sighed and let him hold her close. “I...we should have done this a long time ago.”   
  
“It’s okay,” James told her as he kissed her temples. “It doesn’t matter.”   
  
Leaning into him, Glynda closed her eyes for the briefest moment before she felt him pushing her glasses back up. “Are you sure?”   
  
“Yes, I am.” James said, gently unclasping her cape. “I’m just glad that I have you.”   
  
Feeling the cool metal of his cybernetic hand through her blouse, Glynda pulled him closer, relieved that her partner - fiance - was still here. “It’s going to take time to get used to it...but I do like the sound of Glynda Ironwood.”   
  
“You don't have to change your name,” James told her, holding her securely. “You really don't, not unless you want -”   
  
“I want to,” Glynda kissed him softly before looking at him. “Really, I do.”   
  
Arms still around her tight, James sighed in relief and after which he gave her a squeeze which caused her to draw him closer still. Several minutes passed in this state of simply being in each other’s arms before he kissed her lightly and cupped her face in his hands. “I love you so much.”   
  
Glynda gave him a soft smile as he caressed her cheek. “I love you too.”      
  
**_February 13th_ ** ****_  
_ **_Mistral_ ** ****_  
_ **_7:12 AM_ ** ****_  
_   
“Qrow!” Winter exclaimed with a laugh. “What is going on with your hair?”   
  
Qrow ran his fingers through his unbrushed and wildly tangled locks. “A little bit of this is your fault. I didn’t bother to brush it after you messed it up last night.”   
  
Winter went scarlet just as Ruby came bouncing into the room with Nora following her in equal pace. “Qrow…”   
  
Pulling her in by her waist though she continued to glare, Qrow smirked. “Snowflake, there’s nothing to be ashamed of.”   
  
“Do you or do you not understand how I raised?” Winter asked him as she dragged him off into the other room where she knew they would not be overhear by the teenagers who were all excitedly having breakfast. “Qrow, I’m not going to call last night a mistake but -”   
  
“We were impulsive and -”   
  
“I was drunk!” Winter half shouted before she realized the ill advised nature of doing so. Lowering her voice as she sighed and forced herself to meet her gaze though she would feel her blush deepening. “I remember it though…it was nice and...”   
  
“I shouldn’t have -”   
  
“Don't say that,” Winter snapped though she was still conflicted. “I just don't know quite what to think. Especially if my father was to find out that I slept with you -”   
  
“Winter,” Qrow said, looking at her seriously and placing his hands on her shoulders. “What is the absolute worst thing that could happen to you if he by some stretch of the imagination found out?”   
  
“The worst?” She asked rhetorically as she tried to remain rational. “Well I already lost my claim to the company when I joined the military -”   
  
“Speaking of which,” Qrow said with a slight smirk to which Winter narrowed her eyes. “What do you think will happen when Jimmy finds out that -”   
  
“Qrow!” Winter couldn’t restrain herself from actually shouting this time. “What - are you mad? Have you gone mad?”   
  
“What?” Qrow asked, raising an eyebrow. “No, I’m serious.”   
  
“I don't know if I particularly want to make our relationship public, which would be the circumstance to which he would, most likely, find out.” Winter pulled away from him and leaned against the wall in the narrow corridor. “And -”   
  
“I doubt he’d be bothered by it,” Qrow told her, restraining himself from making any comments about what he viewed as Winter’s almost ridiculous loyalty to James. “I mean, he’s involved with someone like Glynda -”   
  
“What?” Winter demanded, half ready to slap him in more so irritation at the drastic change of subject than anything else. “That has nothing to do with -”   
  
Qrow sighed heavily and she stopped. “Sorry, I know that that isn’t the point. Okay, so…” Softening his tone as he hesitantly moved towards her and leaned her into him, Qrow swore to himself that he would do this as sensitive as possible. “So what is the worst thing that your father could do to you if he found out that you’re with me?”   
  
For a time, Winter didn’t respond but when she did it was lacking her usual sharpness. Pushing her sleeve down to a particular dark spot that had a slight indent on her arm that he hadn’t noticed last night, Winter forced herself not to cry as she recalled several of the memories from her childhood that she had suppressed. “This is what could happen, maybe worse...when I was growing up...if I made a mistake or if I stepped across the line or if I just wasn’t good enough I would…” Sighing as she tried to hide the tears that were brimming at the corners of her eyes, Winter swallowed back her fears. “I have a feeling that you can kind of draw your own conclusions from this and...and it’s not the only one...that I have.”   
  
Though he had known full well that Jacques Schnee was a snake who had little care for anyone except for himself and that he had given Winter the faint scar under her left cheek, it was jarring still to notice the other damages that he had caused to her and he was certain that there were scars on her psyche as well. Looking at her with his eyes slightly wide, Qrow tried to push away his desire to hurt the man who had caused Winter, what he could imagine, terrible pain. “I can’t believe that he could do something like that to you.”   
  
“He’s hurt Weiss too and my mother...interestingly enough, he’s never hurt Whitley - physically, anyways.” Sighing, she gently pushed him away. “If you were ever wondering what happened to my mother...well I suppose this gives you an idea though with her it was mental more so than physical…”   
  
Kissing her gently, Qrow tried to aleve the pain that he could imagine that she was experiencing. “Win, I’m sorry.”   
  
“Why? It’s not your fault,” Practical as always, and Qrow sighed.   
  
“Winter, no one should have to suffer like that and especially at the hand of someone who claims to be a parent in any sense other than biological.”   
  
“Qrow -”   
  
“I mean it,” He told her, his eyes blazing. “And I will never let him touch you again. He’s caused you enough pain already and you never deserved any of it no matter what he had you believe.”   
  
“Qrow, I can protect myself.” Winter snapped though regretted it when she saw the look of hurt in his eyes. Softening her tone, she added. “I’m glad you care about me because I care about you but I don't need you to fight my battles for me.”   
  
“I know…” He admitted with a heavy sigh. “I know that but I can’t help but feel a drive to protect you, especially because I’m afraid of hurting you myself by accident.”   
  
Something snapping inside of her, considering the amount of times they’d been through this, Winter narrowed her eyes though her tone was gentle. “Qrow, under what circumstances would your semblance be able to cause me -”   
  
“I don't know and frankly I don't want to imagine what -”   
  
“The don't because it isn’t really your fault if you -”   
  
“If I hurt you and -”   
  
“You aren’t going to hurt me!” She snapped as Oscar came into the corridor, looking at them in surprise as they attempted to mask the fact that they had been arguing.   
  
“May I?” Ozpin asked Oscar from inside his head and the young boy nodded as he let Ozpin take control. Looking at both of them, he sighed.   
  
“Qrow, honestly, are you still going on about your semblance?”   
  
“Oz -”   
  
“You aren’t going to hurt anyone,” Ozpin-Oscar told him. “And did I tell you what I learnt while we were listening to some of the bar patrons where I found you?”   
  
“I barely remember that night,” Qrow admitted as he tried to recall February the third beyond finding Oz. “What were they sayin’?”   
  
Ozpin-Oscar laughed. “It’s all over the news.”   
  
“None of us have been keepin’ up with that.” Qrow told him as Winter sighed in recollection of her dismay at being unable to get the Atlesian RINSE (Remnant International News And Social Expertise) Network and had refused to watch whatever the gossip was. “Winter hates gossip because -”   
  
Winter cut him off in irritation. “Because I do not need to -”   
  
“Both of you, stop it.” Ozpin-Oscar said firmly though he smiled after. “I mean that Glynda and James are engaged.”   
  
Winter raised an eyebrow while at the same time Qrow began to laugh. “Are you serious?”   
  
“Yes,” Ozpin-Oscar said. “I’m completely serious.”   
  
Continuing to laugh while Winter glared at him, Qrow managed to speak. “Damn...that’s something else, I’ve got to say. One of these days I’ve gotta tell Jimmy -”   
  
“Qrow,” Ozpin-Oscar said with finality. “Please get a hold of yourself.”   
  
“Alright,” Qrow said with a smirk while Winter punched him in the arm. “But seriously, I can’t wait to hear more about that.”


End file.
